It starts with the name: Porto. A warm embrace for all newcomers, and a safe harbour for those within it. Granite walls rising above a watery landscape de ne this city, which welcomes the world and the new without ever doing away with its own genuine identity. The spirit of the natives of Porto, known as tripeiros (‘tripe sellers’), transfuses its very being, such that the greatest heritage of this quintessentially northern city will always be the voice of its people. The character of these people, digni ed yet forthright, generous in spirit and full of vigour, has shaped Porto as a place of striking simplicity and longstanding innovation. Here, where disparate elements combine, we see the story of each day being woven from a glorious array of di erent coloured threads. You can glimpse it from the other side of the Douro, before you even set foot on the bridge: doughty houses clinging to precipitous slopes, staggering from the lofty heights to kneel by the river, and stretching all the way to the sea.